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Comment: Singing in the rain

| Comment
29 June 1991

Forget global warming. An aborted test match, abandoned play at Wimbledon,
and rain-drenched holidays have done more than an army of White House advisers
could ever hope to have achieved in wiping talk of imminent climatic catastrophe
from newspaper headlines. Unfortunately this in turn could reduce pressure
on governments, meeting in Geneva this week, as they try to overcome US
resistance to a global treaty limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

That reaction would, of course, be completely wrong. Remember that the
evidence for global warming is based on multi-year trends, not the data
for isolated years. After all, even after Britain’s recent rain, many underground
aquifers remain half empty following two years of drought. And remember,
too, that some models of the warming process predict an increase in rainfall
in certain parts of the world.

But there is a glimmer of hope that, at least in one direction, environmental
regulations are having an effect. Brussels has decided that Britain’s beaches
are not so dirty after all. The European Commission announced last week
that the proportion of beaches passing its water quality standards has risen
from 67 per cent in 1988 to 77 per cent last year. So for some of us at
least, it will be safe to go down to the sea again – if, that is, we can
dodge the rain clouds.